Tips to Maintaining your Dogs Hygiene

Dogs are not expected to be clean, but there’s more to dog hygiene than just the occasional bath. From dog beds to clean teeth to brush, there’s plenty to keep you going to make sure you maintain some good basic hygiene for your pup.

Bath Time
Quite commonly most pet owners will over-bathe their dogs as they won’t want to have a dirty dog around the house lying on your sofa or coming into bed with you. It’s important to note that how often you wash your dog depends on a number of factors including how long they spend outside rolling around in things they shouldn’t. If your using a gentle dog friendly shampoo then a dog can be bathed weekly.

Brushing your Dogs teeth
One of the most common diseases for dogs is formed in the gums caused by a build up of tartar building up on the teeth. Dental disease can have dire side affects if not treated, including bacterial infections that could be lethal. The easiest way to avoid this is to ensure that every time you brush your teeth, you brush your dog’s teeth-every day.

Although veterinarians recommend using a toothbrush designed for dogs when brushing your pup’s teeth, a quick way to clean their teeth daily is to use your fingers. But make sure you start training your dog on teeth brushing when they’re young. They’re are less likely to nibble on your fingers that way.

Cleaning your Dogs bed
When it comes to your dog, your dogs bed is one of the dirtiest things in your home. A haven for fleas, ticks, germs and allergens. What’s the point in bathing your dog if your dogs bed is dirty. Our top tip when buying a dogs bed is, it’s best to purchase a dog bed with a removable fabric cover that can be easily washed by throwing into a washing machine. The Crash Bed dog beds from Animology are heavy duty dog beds with wipe clean removable covers. If you have a dog that sheds, the dog bed should be vacuumed at least once a week. Your dog might not like cleanliness, but your house will thank you for it.

Cleaning your Dog’s toysWe all love treating our pets to new toys and the cleanliness of your dog’s toys is especially important as these often go in your dog’s mouth. Using disinfectants or cleaning sprays could potentially harm or poison your dog. Just remember to wash your dogs toys at least once a month for safe playing. You can run them through a hot cycle with no detergent (just check they are machine washable first) The heat and water pressure should kill most germs whilst removing dirt and grime.

Dogs PawsYour dog’s paws carry whatever they step in, that includes pesticides, pollens, molds, to dust mites. As it’ advised not to bathe your dog every day, it’s a good idea to clean their paws at least once a month either with a paw soak, or a rub down with a wet cloth. If you have a particularly hairy dog, don’t forget to trim and brush the hairs in-between their toes. This will benefit your dog by reducing the amount of paw chewing and licking they do.

Cleaning your dogs, collar, leash or harnessAny dog owner will know a collar, after a while can start to smell funky. After bathing your dog and cleaning their bed, it doesn’t make any sense to slap a dirty collar on them. Collars don’t need to be washed that much, but as soon as it starts to smell or become brown/black, it’s a good idea to toss it in the washing machine with some pet-friendly detergent or you can simply add a couple squirts of dog shampoo in bowl of hot water, leaving to soak for roughly 15 minutes. Rub the collar against itself to extract any ground in dirt then rinse.